Coal loading and track cleaning machine



July 17, 1928.

H. H. HARRlsQN ET AL comJ LoADxNG AND TRACK CLEANING NACHINE Filed oct. 2'7. 1926 :s Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR ATTOJQNEY Julv 17, 1928. 1,677,824

H. H. HARRISON ET AL COAL LOADING AND TRACK CLEANING MACHINE Filed oet. 27, 1926 3 sheets-sheet 2 .f2 4- 7 73 67 AAz (was 76 955,9 ,66 63 4Z 71 #a 734, lo@

INVEN'TOR mmzw ATTORNEY July A17, 1928.A

H. H. HARRISON ET AL COAL LOADING AND TRACK CLEANING MACHINE Filed Oct. 27, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet www- A w gf M mv 1f W v www m #f1.3

'si edto Patented .ldly 17, 1928.

HENRY H. HARRISON. Howann 'PATENT orales.

W. ALLENDEB, AND BICHAED L. FOUT, F THOEAS,

WEST VIRGINIA.

CI)AL.*LOADING*A AND TRACK-CLEANING MACHINE.

K ppllcatlon filed October" 27, 1828. Serial 110.144,51?.

Our present invention has reference to a coal loadirg arid track cleaning machine for use in mines. j An ob'ect is the provision of'an electrically operate truck, nopelled by-: trolley wire in'the mine, andP having at its forward end a verticall` adjustable revoluble dig er d edyig the coal from between t 1e rails o the track and to deliver'said coahonto a scoop from whence the said coal isA rinsed by an endless conveyor and delivered 'onto an elevator into a chute which directs the coal into a car attached to the truck, all of the revolving parts of the device being operated by the motor of the truck; y l

A further object is the provislon of a machine for this purpose in which a revoluble digger of a. novel and peculiar construction is employed, inv which the elevator of the device is plvotally supported upon a turn-table so that the elevator may be swung to different vertical angles and turned to either side of'the truck and in which the chute, associated with the elevator,L may be swung and sustained at desired' vertical angles with respect to said elevator.

A still further object is the provision of an apparatus for this purposewhich shall be o a'cornparatively simple construction, and wherein all of the parts constituting the same may be conveniently adjusted' to meet different necessary conditions.

To the' attainment of the above broadl stated objects and many oth-ers which will present themselves as the nature ofthe improvement is better understood, the inven- ,tion also resides in certain other novel fcatures of construction, combination and opera tive association of. parts, one satisfactoryembodiment of which i's'rdisclosed companying drawings.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is aside elevation of the improvement. I FigireQ' is a top'plan view thereof.`

"Figure 3 is a sectional view approximately 'fon the line Bel- 3 of Figure 2.

by the ac- Figure 4 is a lsectional View on the line 114-4 of-"Figure 3, partsbeing removed.

4Figure 5 is a detail sectional View on the line5-5 of Figure 4. c -Figure 6 isa'sectional view on the line G46 of Figure 3.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary elevation to illustrate the mount fo'r the digger wheel,

Figure 8v is a `s/ectional view on the line 8-8 of Figure 7.

Figure`9 is a sectional view on the line 9 9 ofFigure 3. l

- Figure 10 is a detail sectional view on the line 10-10 of Figure 9.

In the illustrated embodiment of our improvement, we make use of an open frame truck 1 having a trolley wheel 2 to engage with the trolley wire in a mine, a motor 3 for operating the wheels 4, and a control 5 for the motor. At the forward end of the truck frame 1 there is the vertically adjustable mount for the digger wheel which provides an important partof the invention. The forward end of the frame 1 has its sides provided with vertical openings, and the side walls provided by these openings are grooved, as at 7. In the openings there are received the parallel arms 8 of the mount, the said arms having an upper connecting clement 9. The arms 8 are formed with tongues 10 that are received in thesaid grooves 7. The forward end of the frame -is substantially U-shaped 4in front elevation and threaded through the top portion of the said frame there is a hand operated Vscrew 11 which contacts with the central member 9 of the substantially U-shaped mount. The arms 8 of the mount are formed with outstanding fianges 12, and the lower portion of the said end of the frame 1, at the opposite sides of the opening therethrough have outstanding ledges 13. Between these ledges ranged vbetween said lwheels. In the showing of the drawings,} the digger wheel` includes spaced side discs 16, connected at de-Y sired intervals by s ats 17, the 'said slats being formed with" equidistantly spaced is fixed to the discs 6A had extend through suitable bearings in t e arms of theu-shaped .hoolvlike digger blnfes 18. The shaft 19 l -1nount. While not' shown, suitablev Cover plates are provided for protecting the s rings 14, and' on one or each end of the The axle 61 for the drive sprockets of .the siiaft 19 there is secured a s rocket wheel, elevator has its ends journaled in bearing 21 through the medium of w ich the shaft openin sin the upstandingflanges 44 ci r, ofthe digger wheel is revolved in a manner turn ta le 45 that is suitably mountedon the 6 as will hereinafter be explained. bottom of the truck 1, as will hereinafter 7( At a suitable distance lto the rear of the be described. The 'shaft for the sprocket digger wheel there is 'the cross sectionally wheels 33 of the elevator 31 is extended be- U-shaped f raine 22 for an endlessl conveyor yond the sides of the chute 35 and has jour- 23. The frame -is dis sed at an upward naled thereon ring members 46 having arms i inclination and is'suita ly supported 1n the to which are connected the angle strands of 75 truck frame. Hingedly secured, as at 24, a cable 47. This cable is Wound around a to the outer and lower end of the conveyor drum 48 disposed opposite the first menL frame 22 there is the inner and reduced end tioned drum, the last mentioned drum- 48 of the scoop 25. The scoop has its widened having its shaft merging into a crank handle outer endextending a suitable distance be- 49 the said shaft having a ratchet wheel 80 yond the sides of the track rails 15, and the thereon engaged b a suitable pawl. In sides of the scoop, 'at this said end thereof this manner it will e seen that the elevator are rejected, as indicated by the numerals may be swung to desired vertical angles on 26 {,Figure, 4). The bottom of the scoop, the truck frame.

at the portions thereof disposed directly over The turn-table has its base portion pro- 85 the track rails, 'is cut away, but these cut vided with a .race-way for anti-frictional away portions are covered by substantially balls 50, the second element of the race-way cross sectionally U-shaped p ates 27. This beingr provided in a circular depression in arrangement permits of the scoop being the bottom of the truck or in a plate 51 25 lowered so that the outer or active end therewhich is fixed on the bottom of the truck. 90 of will contact with the floor of the mine, A pivot 52 connects the turn-table to the' both between and at the opposite sides of plate 51, and this pivot is in the nature of a.

the trackrails. The projected ends 26 of shaft having on its inner or upper'end a the scoop are pivotally supported on the bevel gear 53. The gearV 53 is in the nature shaft 19 oftlie digger wheel so that the of an idler and has meshing therewith o 95 scoopn is adjusted simultaneously with the positely disposed bevel gears 54 and 55. T e

adjustment of the mount for the digger shaft 56 for the gear 55 is journaled in a yvheel. bearing in the turn-table 'and has secured on The Vendless conveyor 23 has endless its outer end a sprocket 57. The shaft 58 sprocket chains on the sides thereof, the said for the gear 54 is journaled .through a bear- 100 sprocket chains traveling over sprocket ing provided by rojecting andextending wheels 28 and 29, and the chains have 'seinwardly a part of) the base or plate 51, and cured thereto transverse flightsv 3 0. The a portion of the turn-table is cut-away for low er lead of the conveyor trave in an the reception of this bearing. For distincupward direction in a manner wl ich will tion the bearing is indicated by the numeral 105 presently be described. i 59 and the. shaft 58 has on its outerend a The conveyor delivers onto an upwardly sprocket wheel 60. inclined elevator 31, the same alsoA including A Y ,lvhg sprgeketuwheel 57 is' disposed opendless side chains provided with transversepwo ite a sprocket wheel on the shaft 61 for ights and traveling oveij Sprocket Wheels the lower sprocketwheels 32 of tlie elevator, 110 32 and 33. -The frame for the elevator 31 is and E trained around these last mentioned indicated by the numeral 34, and the upper sprocket wheels there .is a drive chain 62. sprocket wheel 32 projects through the sides The motor 3 has on one end of its shaft a of the frame 34 and has pivotally connected gear 63 that is in mesh with a toothed wheel 60 thereto the inner side members of a chute 64 whose shaft 65 isarrariged transversely 115 35. This chute is arranged overv the open with res ect to the trucki and journaled in top of a inine car 36 which is hitched to the suitable bearings carried by the said truck. truck 1. T he sides of the chute, above the On 'the ends of the shaft 65 there are pivot thereof have a .substantially U-shaped toothed sprocket wheels 66 and-67, respecail portion 37, the same being centrally tively. On the ends 'of the' shaft 68 for the 120 formed with a finger 38 to wliie is attached lower and drive shaft for the conveyor there a eable-39 that. is wound'aroundr a drum 40 are sprocket wheels 69 and 70, and trained whose shaft is journaled in suitable bearings around the sprocket wheels 66 and. 69 there on the top of the truck. Thei shaft has a are sprocket chains 71. Trained around the cranked end "41 and 'has fixed thereon a ratchet wheel'42 that 1s engaged b a pawl 21 on the shaft 20 for the digger wheel there 43. lBy thisv ari-'an ement it -w1ll. .e noted are s rocket chainsv 72. On the shaft or axle that the chute may e swung to desired verfor t e 1 -ear wheels 4 of the truck 1 there are tical positions on and with'respect to the sprocketl wheels, andaround thesesprocket 56 e1e"ator fraaie'. l. `wheels and around the sprocket wheels 67A 130 sprocket wheels 70 and the sprocket wheels 125k trained sprocket chains 73. The rml ot' the said rear truck wheels is ovni-vf "i il" an additional sprocket vvheei or i. s trained a sprocket chain 74 that is also i arouudthe sprocket ythis arrangement it will' lic noten that the digger wheel turned in the direction of the a1'- row in Figure 3 of the drawings. that thc lower lead of the conveyor travels in an upward direction, while the upper lead of the elevator travels in a downward direction, and that all of these parts are simultaneously operated. The turning of these parts is regulated by the control 5 for the motor 3. It is, of course, to be also noted that the turning of the shat't 58. through the medium of the idler gear .53 will impart a like turning to the shaft 5G so that the elevator is properly operated. It. will be further noted that the turn-table may be revolved without interfering with the operaton of the elevator. This, together with the swin able chute are very important features o the invention, because the coal gathered from the track and adjacent. to the rails thereof may be properly directed to ,lill all parts of the mine car 36, it being apparent that the vertical swinging of the elevator and the like swinging ot' the chute on the elevator frame will cause the coal to be delivered to either the front, rear or sides of the mine caf.

It is believed that the construction of our invention and the advantages thereof will he perfectly apparent to those skilled in the art to 'which the invention relates when the foregoing description has been carefully read in connection with the accompanying drawings so that a further detail description is not, thoughtr necessary. lt is, tif-course, to lic understood that, we have herein set forth only one satisfactory embodiment of our improvement :nul we do not wish to be liniitcd to the precise structural details as se( forth. 'l`hcretorc, we hold ourselves entitled to malte such changes1 and modificaU tions :is fairly l'all within the .scope of what. uc claim. providing we do not depart from the spirit of our invention or sacrifice any ot the advantages thereof.

While we have described our improvenient :is a coal loading and track cleaning machin;l for use in mines.l it is obvious thatl tizi: invention, we

gitddinal series of spaced hook-shaped i'ilades, a substantially U-shaped mount for 'the shaft of the digger wheel, guided in a hearing opening in the sides of truck frame, spring means influencing the mount. in one direction, hand operated means between the truck and mount for influencing the latter in a second direction, ,a hingedly supported scoop at the rear of the mount having an outer widened portieri and projecting ends which are received on the ends of the shaft for the digger wheel, said scoop having openings in the outer portion thereof disposed opposite the rails of the track, cross scctioually Ushaped guards covering said open'ngs, an upwardly inclined endless conveyor at the rear ot thel scoop, an outwardly inclined endless elevator at the delivery end of the conveyor, a chute at the delivery end of the elevator arranged over the mine car, and means actuated by the motor for simultaneously imparting motion to the digger.

wheel, the conveyor and the elevator.

2. In a device for the purpose set forth, a wheeled truck designed to travel on the rails of a mine track and to have a mine car coupled thereto, a vertically adjustable spring influenced digger wheel at the forward end of the truck, a hingedly supported vertically adjustable scoop at the rear of the digger wheel, an upwardly inclined endless conveyor at the rear of the scoop, an u wardly inclined elevator at the delivery endpof the conveyor, a mount pivotally supporting the elevator on the truck, means connected with the elevator and operable .from the truck for swinging the elevator to vertical adjusted positions, a pivotally,supportcd chute at the delivery` end of the elevator, said chute being arranged over the car, means connected with the chute and operable from the truck for swinging and retaining the truck in vertical positions with respect to the elevator, and means actuated by the motor for simultaneously imparting motion to the digger wheel, the conveyor and the elevator.

3. ln a device for the purpose set forth, an electrically operated 'wheeled truck designed to travel on a mine track, a digger wheel at the forward end ot the truck, a scoop to the rear of the digger wheel, an upwardly inclined endless conveyor at the inner end of the co/Jp, an upwardly in clincd emile-w` vator at the delivery end of the convdni, a turintable on tbc truck to which the louc; end oi' the elevator frame is pivoted, a beveled gear on the pivot, a gear in mesh with the first inentioned gear and having its shaft iournaled through the elevator. means operated by the turning of said shaft for actuating the elevator, a second gear in mesh with the first mentioned gear, a shaft therefor; a bearing for the shaft supported on the truck, menne actuated by -tho motor of that yrence; for simultaneously imparting motion io die digger wheel, the conveyor and the isst mentioned alleine chute pivotally supported et the deiive end of the conveyor and urrenfled over' lie car, spaced handle npemted c .mms 'at the top of the truck, means for normally preventing the turning nf the drums in one direction and exible eements connected respectively to the elo justing means for the mount a, hinged scoop having its outer end below the digger wheel and supported on the mount for said digger wheel, said seoophaving inwardly depressed portions disposed over the rails of the track, an upwardl inclined endless conveyor at the rear en of the scoop, an upwardly inclined elevator onto which the conveyor delivers, a chute at the outlet end of the ele vator disposed over the mine car, and means actuated by the Rotor of the truck to simultaneously imparta, motion to the digger wheel, the conveyor and the elevator.

In testimony whereof we niiix our signatures,

HENRY H. HARRISON. HOWARD W. ALLENDER.

RICHARD' L. FOUT. 

